


Truth Be Told

by Banana_daiquiri



Series: Temptations [4]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, My mind is a dirty place, NSFW, Sharing a Bed, Smut, Telepathy, Truth Serum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-23
Updated: 2015-11-23
Packaged: 2018-05-03 00:17:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5269397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Banana_daiquiri/pseuds/Banana_daiquiri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor is full of manic, happy energy. Enough to agree to put up with Jack <i>and</i> attend a house party. For once, things border on normalcy for the Doctor and his companion. Until, that is, someone asks him a racy question and his answer shatters all of Rose's preconceptions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Truth Be Told

**Author's Note:**

> Part 4 of the [Temptations](http://archiveofourown.org/series/329659) series. Part 1 is "Proximity," Part 2 is "A Friend in Need," and Part 3 is "Finding the Words."

This was the happiest she'd seen the Doctor since the impossible planet. He beamed maniacally up at the time rotor as he threw a lever, sending them off into their next adventure: a housewarming party at the house of a friend of one Jack Harkness. Which seemed like an odd thing for the Doctor to be excited about, on all sorts of levels.

Rose grinned at him from across the console. "Can't believe you agreed to this."

"Whaaat, meee? I know how to have fun I do," he scoffed, glancing up from the console at her and throwing her a little wink that meant absolutely nothing that she wished it did.

"Coulda fooled me," Rose said, toeing a dangerous line. But he'd been so effervescent all day (he'd taken them for ice cream on three different planets, so a sugar high might have much to do with it) that she felt this might be the best time to draw him out. "Lately, anyway."

He didn't respond, but spun a little circle with his sonic pointed upward, and the next thing she knew, the nostalgic opening strains of Glenn Miller's "In The Mood" filtered through the room. 

"Remember this?" he dashed over to her and grabbed her hand, beginning a little swing dance with her, and she laughed hysterically. 

"What's gotten into you?"

His footwork dancing her backward was quick and nimble. "Don't you ever just wake up happy, Rose Tyler?"

She pursed her pouty lips and looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Time travel...best tour guide the universes have to offer...chick flick nights on Fridays with rocky road ice cream and an alien who isn't afraid to cry...nothing so impressive."

His smile was toothy enough to just about split his face in two. He pulled her in close without warning and crushed her close to him in a tight spin.

She was gasping for breath, laughing and dizzy, when he set her back down again--but she didn't lose her pace. The Doctor had his arm around her waist, his right hand holding her left up, and she had him mirrored. He made a sort of bicycle pedal maneuver with their linked hands, and she followed along, thinking how nice it felt to be close to him for the first time in weeks without there being any awkwardness. Also, he smelled really good. A clean, warm, Doctorish smell.

The TARDIS rocked as she made one of her standard not-so-gentle landings and they fell back against a railing, hanging onto it monkey-bar-style as they tumbled into sitting positions on the grating. 

Once the dust had settled the Doctor popped his head up and righted himself, raising his eyebrows and expelling a bracing sigh. "That's that then. Now or never. Jack Harkness and his friends--what could go wrong, mmm?"

He was being transparently facetious; he knew exactly what sort of trouble they could get into with Jack Harkness involved. But he held his hand out to her, wiggling his fingers, and helped her to her feet before pulling her down the ramp. He snatched his coat up and bounded out the door.

***

Their gaits slowed and they eventually came to a standstill at the end of the driveway, both of their brows furrowed.

Rose swung their linked hands back and forth a little and cocked her head. "Doesn't look like much of a party, Doctor." It was so cold outside that her breath came out in frosty puffs. She only had her hoodie on; she hadn't realized what season they were landing in. She began jumping up and down in place to get her blood flowing. 

The Doctor turned to her with a little smile. "What are you--oh. Come here--you're turning into an icicle, aren't you?"

"I'm all right," she said as he tugged her closer. He opened his coat and she stepped in against him, circling her arms around his chest and resting her chin on his shoulder. He closed the flaps of his coat around her. 

"Can't take you humans anywhere," he teased.

"Ugh--there you go again," Rose said, mostly--but not entirely--good-naturedly.

"How's your knee?"

On their way up the hill to Jack's friend's house she had slipped and cut herself on a rock, tearing right through her jeans. She had twisted herself pretty good.

"It's fine," Rose said, a little stiffly. "Never better." She wasn't about to admit that it bloody hurt.

"Rose," he said, his voice low.

She hesitated at his tone. "Yeah?"

"I need to be honest with you."

She pulled back to meet his eyes, and he looked back at her gravely. "I don't think there's a party."

Her face split in a smile and she freed one arm to smack his shoulder playfully.

He was smiling back, but then his gaze turned to something over her shoulder. "Oh noooo," he groaned.

"Hey!"

Rose would recognize that voice behind her anywhere. She tore from the Doctor's arms and turned and ran straight at their friend. "Jack!"

He laughed heartily and caught her, squeezing her tightly. "Rosie! You missed me that much? Hey, he's feeding you, isn't he?" He playfully pinched her butt and Rose screamed and kicked her way out of his arms. "You can still come travel with me, you know. I'll put some cushion on you."

Rose shoved him. "More like use me _as_ a cushion. You know how to charm a girl, Harkness."

He turned to the Doctor, arms spread out indignantly. "Why can't _you_ greet me like that?"

"My bum is just fine in its unsqueezed state, thank you very much," he said, smiling calmly as he approached the two at a leisurely pace.

Jack leaned down toward Rose. "He doesn't talk to _you_ like that, does he?" he asked out of the corner of his mouth, though not quietly enough to keep the comment from Time Lord ears. "Tell me. I'll set him straight."

"And here I thought you were trying for just the opposite all this time," the Doctor countered saucily.

Jack laughed and grabbed the other man in a bear hug so tight that the Doctor could barely raise his arms. Then he released him abruptly. "OH! You're not here for the party, are you?"

"Um," the Doctor said, already beginning to realize.

"Yeah, we are," Rose said, confused. "Has it been cancelled?"

Jack didn't respond. He was too busy laughing silently, raising a finger to point teasingly at the Doctor.

The Doctor was blushing. He looked sheepish.

"I wouldn't let you put me in a cab if I was falling-down-drunk," Jack gasped. "Your driving...."

"Oh no," Rose groaned, sounding very much like the Doctor had a minute ago. "You got it wrong again?"

The Doctor scratched the back of his neck and looked away from them. "Knew I should have replaced that part...."

They all stood around a little awkwardly for a moment. Jack was the only one entirely at ease; he was still laughing. Rose was uncomfortable because the Doctor was being picked on--even though he could handle it.

"Well, Rose," the Doctor said, "come on, we'll go back and--"

"No, wait a moment," Jack said. "That's just not going to happen. You aren't going to fast forward and make me take the scenic route. Besides, the scenery's always more interesting where you are," he finished, unabashedly giving them both a once-over. "Come to my place."

The Doctor was shaking his head. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Jack cut him off.

"I won't make you stay up late and actually socialize, Doctor. Come on. Give me some credit...I can be a normal host, you know. Well, mostly, anyway. Come stay--have breakfast, see the town, and we'll catch the party tomorrow night. It's not as if you landed a month in advance."

Rose nudged the Doctor's arm and gave him her tongue-touched grin, hoping fervently for a continuation of the catch-as-catch-can attitude he'd exuded all day. "Might be fun, Doctor."

"Oh all right," the Doctor said, in a you're-both-very-lucky voice, rolling his eyes.

Jack, a triumphant expression fixed on his face, led them to his car.

***

Jack brought them back to his apartment, which was surprisingly clean. He fed them pizza and talked them both into having a nightcap with him. As they ate and drank they caught up on all their recent adventures, and then they sat around in a haze for about five minutes, digesting and becoming sleepy, before Jack brought them to their sleeping quarters.

"I only have one spare room I'm afraid," Jack said, showing them in. "But it's a big bed."

They gazed into the sparsely furnished room. The bed was a queen, dressed in clean white linen and a downy blue duvet. Neither the Doctor nor Rose spoke.

"You have shared a bed before, haven't you?" Jack asked (admirably without the slightest hint of innuendo), glancing between them both.

"Plenty of times, yeah," Rose murmured.

"Oh yeah of course," the Doctor said at the same time, scratching his neck faintly. "No big deal."

"All right then," Jack said easily. "Sleep in if you want; it's your dime." They had their backs to him but he grabbed them both from behind and crushed them in a three-way-bear-hug. "So good to see you both. Kinda surreal to have you sleeping under my roof." This last was mostly directed at the Doctor, directly before he planted a huge kiss on his cheek. "Sleep well," he said, and this time there was definitely something salacious in his tone. He left, chuckling quietly, and they just barely made out his mumble of, "Or don't." He pulled the door shut behind him.

Rose grinned and ran at the bed, jumping onto it, deciding that the best way to approach this potentially awkward sleeping arrangement was to--literally--dive right in. She flopped back on the sheets width-wise and drew a deep breath, letting it out in a satisfying sigh. "Aaaaah, so comfy...you gotta try it, Doctor."

She felt him get onto the bed a little more tentatively, but he settled down next to her, leaving a couple of inches between them. "That _is_ rather nice, yeah." He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again and rolled to face her, propping his head up on his palm. She looked over at him and mirrored him. "What on earth are we gonna do here all day tomorrow?" he asked.

"We could go shopping for a housewarming gift," Rose suggested. "We sort of forgot to grab one. It is customary to bring something."

"Where would I be without you in these domestic matters, Rose Tyler?"

The side of her mouth quirked up. "You wouldn't be here at all. You only do this kinda stuff because you know _I_ want to."

"Hmm. That's rather nice of me."

She smiled at his false modesty. "Why don't we actually get in properly? I'm knackered," Rose said, yawning.

He watched her intently. "Nice form. I'm never gonna nail that particular human quirk, I suppose, but I give you a 10."

She turned and crawled up the bed, then stopped and sat for a minute, thinking.

"What?"

"I don't have any jim jams," she said.

"We can sleep as we are."

"'S not terribly comfortable," she said, wrinkling her nose. "Turn around."

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm about to take my trousers off."

He sat up and turned around so quickly that she had to bite her lips to hold back a chuckle. "I'm at least gonna take these jeans off. And--well, never mind."

He didn't say anything, but she could practically hear his brow furrow as he worried over what "and" might translate to.

Rose pulled her bra out through one sleeve of her t-shirt and dropped it on the floor with her trousers, then slipped underneath the covers. "Why don't you get comfortable? I won't look."

He still hadn't turned around. "I'm very comfortable. This suit is practically a pair of pinstriped pyjamas. Made by the same manufacturer _as_ my pyjamas, I believe."

"Uh huh. Well, if you wanna be uncomfortable, that's your business." She closed her eyes, nestling into her pillow. She felt the mattress shift as his weight left it, and then she heard cloth rustling. She heard him drape his suit jacket over the back of the only chair in the room, then more rustling, which she didn't dare contemplate. He turned the light off and then, after a few moments of hesitation, he climbed in.

Rose yelped.

"What?" he asked quickly, panicked. "What's wrong--is it your knee? I meant to sonic that, wait a second, I can get it--"

"No, Doctor." She fisted his henley and pulled him back before he could get out of the bed. "Your foot touched my ankle. You're freezing."

"Oh," he said, sounding both relieved and slightly abashed at the same time. "Sorry. My temperature is naturally lower than yours."

"So I've noticed."

He settled down, leaving space between them again. There was silence as they both relaxed. Rose didn't expect him to say anything more, but he surprised her. "This is starting to become a habit."

"What's that?"

"You and me, trapped in a room. Against our will. Or forced to huddle together for warmth. Not that I need warmth. My feet might be cold, but that's normal for me." He was rambling. 

Rose snickered.

"You ever notice this is a recurring theme in our lives?"

"Now that you mention it. I dunno though, 's not so bad."

He turned his head toward her. "No?"

"No. At night's when I usually feel homesick. The TARDIS is so big it's like there's no one else for miles. At least with you here, I've got my best mate nearby."

He hummed, pleased.

"We could..." Rose whispered, then hesitated before putting the noose on. "We could do that thing again, if you'd like...what we did before."

Though he wasn't touching her, she could feel his tension at the suggestion.

"Sorry," she went on. "I didn't mean to rub salt in it."

"You would do that?" His voice was soft, and she could hear surprise in his tone. It hurt her heart to sense the subtle longing he was trying to keep out of his question.

"Sure," she said, trying not to let her own surprise show.

He didn't say anything else. After a few moments Rose shifted closer to him, knowing he would never initiate. The easiest way to handle this would be to blunder straight in. "Here. Give me your hand." She groped in the dark, and his fingers hesitantly met hers. She grabbed them and raised them to her temple as he shifted onto his side. She could feel his hand shaking lightly. She reached over and touched his temple as well.

"Breathe," she soothed. "Relax."

She heard him actually obey for once, heard him pull a slow breath, felt his muscles relax all over. It was funny how you could feel something like that through a mattress. And then she felt something else--a prickling feeling in her mind, a hesitant entrance.

 _All right?_ she asked.

_Yeah._

They drifted in a moment in the haze of each other's pre-sleep minds, and then he spoke up again. _Rose...how_ is _your knee, anyway?_

She hesitated, then decided to be honest. If he hadn't been in her head, she would have lied, but she knew that he would know, considering where he was. _It's pretty painful. Feels stiff._

_You're always getting hurt with me._

_We both get hurt. You just heal faster. It's okay._

A few moments of silence.

_Ask me something. Anything._

_Huh? Why?_

He sighed softly and stroked her temple. _Because I owe you that much, Rose Tyler. Now, ask me anything, and I'll answer._

She was stunned. She wondered if, somehow, he'd accessed her desire for this very thing.

_Okay, that's easy. What's been bothering you since Krop Tor?_

He hesitated, but not for long. _I realized I didn't have any control. I never thought I'd lose my TARDIS, and suddenly I had. I've always known we could get stuck somewhere, some_ when _...hypothetically, anyhow. But suddenly there really was nothing I could do for you. Follow that up with the Beast and its ridiculous fear-mongering...there was nothing to that, but it reminded me that I_ will _eventually lose you. In the end, everything goes. It was the final straw. I'm getting back to myself though now, eh?_

_Is this why we've been fightin' so much--you're worried about me being human, about my fragility?_

_Hey, I said_ ONE _question._ His tone was playful, and she smiled.

He astonished her by turning serious again and actually answering. _Yes, Rose. I suppose that is why._

_One thing I think humans got right over Time Lords, Doctor, is that when things are difficult they latch onto each other instead of pushing each other away. At least if they're smart, they do. They band together. You're the cleverest person I've ever known, so how 'bout it?_

He removed his hand from her temple, gently severing their connection, and instead swept her against him and squeezed her. She grinned in the darkness and squeezed him back. She might not know what he was thinking anymore, but it felt as if he never intended to let go.

They said nothing after that, just slowly drifted in the haze of incoherent thought that leads into sleep. Rose snuggled in closer to the Doctor, and he rested his cheek against her forehead.

***

Rose, for what was surely the first time in the entire time she'd known the Doctor, was the first one to wake up the next morning.

She opened her eyes slowly, wondering groggily where she was. She smiled when she saw the Doctor lying next to her. He was on his back, his mouth slightly ajar. His breath was nearly silent. She studied his profile, and as the moments stretched out a longing so strong it was nearly unbearable began to overtake her.

The Doctor rolled over in his sleep, facing her. It was light outside, but Rose could tell by the blunted, bluish glow across his face that it was still early. Her feet had been exposed to the cold air when the Doctor shifted with the blanket, so she very stealthily toed it back down to cover them, and resumed her perusal of the Doctor's countenance.

He had a delicate dusting of freckles, like cinnamon sprinkled on milk. She'd noticed before, plenty of times, but she'd never had the opportunity to look her fill, nor this closely. She imagined kissing her way along every one of the little ginger dots; his nose, his cheeks, that very faint one above his lip. 

Thinking of how strained things had been between the two of them lately only sharpened the idea, twisted it in the center of her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

She chewed the inside of her own lip and reached tentatively to brush his temple, not entirely certain what her intent was. When she made contact she caught a loud wave of his thoughts, as though someone had abruptly turned up a radio. She couldn't tell what any of the noise meant--it was a jumble of blurry images, and the disjointed words she was able to catch weren't English. They held no meaning for her, but their broken cadence was recognizable as the nonlinear language of dreams. Rose watched as the muscles between his eyebrows twitched; his brow furrowed lightly and there was a change in his thought process that she could only assume meant he had sensed her. 

The Doctor blinked slowly and met her gaze, not for a moment seeming confused or perturbed. He reached out and touched her temple in acknowledgment of whatever it was she'd been trying to do. His mouth had closed and the expression on his face was impossible to read; his eyes were dark, his hair rumpled. She felt an inkling of his thoughts: he was comfortable; he wondered how she'd slept and if she was hungry; he was a bit peckish himself. He didn't directly ask her anything--they were just flitting thoughts. Suddenly he shifted his arm out from under his pillow and tucked that hand under her head to touch her other temple, freeing up his right arm so he could pull the blankets up over their shoulders more, easing closer to her without ever breaking their mental contact.

Rose, surprised, found that she had to close her eyes because she was entirely too close to his face now. He was only wearing his henley and a pair of boxers, and he felt and smelled so nice, especially in their cocoon of blankets; he was warmer than he had been when he'd first got in the bed. And it was different now; it wasn't a fierce, companionable squeeze in the darkness. 

_Burning._ She caught the word, drifting through his mind. It seemed to be in relation to a dream he'd had, but also to her thoughts, somehow. The two were intertwined; he was awake but his mind was still drifting on that precipice of his dream state, remembering, and she saw the flames in his mind and how they were getting jumbled up in the warmth of her beside him. Rose trembled and brushed her nose softly against his, half in affection, but mostly in an effort to soothe his uneasiness.

She felt him slide further into her mind, almost without warning, but she didn't feel threatened by it--just surprised by the urgency she sensed. She let him go, and under the sheets his hand trailed down to the curve of her waist and he pulled her softly against him. She felt the press of him, not insistent but just there as his cock twitched and slowly hardened against her hip.

Rose's breath froze, her heart breaking into a gallop and a tingling heat breaking out across her skin. The Doctor's thumb stroked her temple, but then he seemed to come back to himself. His eyes opened, fully aware now, and he regarded her again for a moment, not moving, though surely he understood the situation. His eyes flickered over her face and he slowly extracted himself from what could only be described as an incredibly intimate embrace. He rolled over onto his other side before sitting up. He stayed there on the edge of the bed a moment, rubbing his face to scrub away the sleep, then cleared his throat and reached over to grab his suit jacket from the back of the chair. He stood and, back still to her, pulled on his pinstriped trousers.

Rose watched him, her heart still hammering. Though she had been too stunned to react in the moment, she was awash with arousal, and wished that she had the courage to pull him back down on the bed and snog him madly.

But alien or no, he was still just a bloke. He probably woke up like this all the time, and probably had a different attitude toward it than humans did. He probably even expected her to understand.

Ugh...just great. She swallowed hard, trying to catch her bearings. 

The Doctor turned to face her as he buttoned the last button on his suit jacket. "See you at breakfast?" His tone was casual, but his glance was apprehensive.

She propped her head up on her arm and gave him a sleepy smile as an affirmative.

"Good. I'll make toast." And just like that he was off.

***

"Can't believe you don't have egg cups. Can't have eggs and soldiers without egg cups. The toast are just civilians, now." 

Rose grinned as the sound of the Doctor griping to Jack filtered down the hall to her as she made her way to the kitchen. 

"That's rubbish," he went on. "Civilians aren't any fun. I'll have to make a little bread couch for them to sit on." 

"Hey," Rose protested as she entered the kitchen, and both men looked up at her with sunny smiles. "I'll have you know I'm a civilian, thank you very much." 

"Ah, but you're with me," the Doctor said. "That moves you up in status." 

Jack was staring at the Doctor, one eyebrow raised. "She travels with you, you mean." 

The Doctor's brow furrowed. "That's what I said." 

"No it isn't." Jack shot Rose a wink, and she rolled her eyes as she slid into her seat. 

The Doctor chewed his toast slowly, looking Rose over skeptically as he sat a bit sideways in his chair, one elbow slung casually over the back. 

After a long moment of silence, Rose got tired of sensing his eyes on her and returned his stare. "Yes, Doctor? Can't have something on my face--I haven't eaten yet." 

He pushed the plate of toast closer to her without looking at it and shook his head slowly. "It's not that. I'm just scandalized by your hair. This is how you come to the breakfast table?"

Rose reached up and felt her bird's-nest of hair. "Excuse me, it never bothers you when we're on the TARDIS!"

She saw his eyes sparkle subtly. He did get in these moods where he loved to antagonize her. "Yeah, but we're company."

"I can't come down here too put together. Takes all the fun out of it for Jack."

Jack nodded and said thoughtfully, "I'm curious to know how you got it styled like that."

All the innuendo went straight over the Doctor's frustratingly beautiful head, not even resulting in an embarrassed swipe of his hand through his stupidly perfect hair. "Butter, Rose?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at Jack and mouthed, _Behave._ "Yes, Doctor, that'd be nice thanks."

Jack widened his eyes at her and raised his eyebrows. _Why?_ he mouthed back. _You like it. You like it when I'm bad._ He went on and on until Rose started giggling.

The Doctor glanced up through his fringe at Jack, then back to Rose. "Am I being left out of something?"

Rose pretended she'd been caught. She pursed her lips tight and refused to look at either of them. "Nope." She ate her toast primly.

Jack got up to get more coffee.

Rose suddenly felt something hit her ankle. She looked over at the Doctor threateningly. 

He gently kicked her again. She kicked him back. It quickly became a full-out escalating war, so that by the time Jack turned back to look at them, Rose had stood and was trying to hook her leg around the Doctor's to completely immobilize him where he sat.

Jack beamed. "Are you guys playing footsie?"

They both ignored him and went on tussling, until the Doctor cheated and tickled Rose's side. She quickly jumped away with a yelp and took her seat again. "Okay--white flag, I surrender."

They all sat still then, their mirth petering out into a comfortable silence. The Doctor palmed the newspaper closer and Rose stared into space. Jack was busy scribbling down something for Torchwood. 

"So," Jack finally said, "what are your plans for the day? I have to go into the office for a bit. Won't be long, though. I'll leave you my key."

"We're gonna go shopping for your friend," Rose said. "We need a gift for the party. What's he like?"

_***_

They had all dressed casually. The Doctor was in his usual attire and Jack in his. Both had their long coats on. Rose had purchased a pink coat with a fur-lined hood, but was currently ignoring the hood in favor of her new pom-pom hat and multi-colored scarf. The Doctor had teased her relentlessly about how she needed multiple emergency head-warming accoutrements. "How cold can your head get? Seriously, I'm going to run some experiments. Could you power a walk-in freezer just by standing in it?"

"Never know when your TARDIS is going to break down again. These accoutrements might be all that keep me from freezing to death."

"Oi! I'll have you know that ship is my oldest friend."

"I'll say oldest."

"Just because you're hardly out of diapers."

She'd pushed him so hard he'd nearly gone down in the leaves, and when he got up he'd run at her, grabbed her around the waist, and lifted her, making her squeal.

"No comment," Jack said, not even sparing them a backward glance.

The Doctor finally put Rose down "Why'dya always park so far away?" Rose asked the Doctor as they neared their intended destination. "We musta walked a mile."

"You always park far away so no one else hits your vehicle."

"Oh Doctor, seriously?"

"Hey, this is some nice fresh air. I do love the zing of a cool autumn breeze. Though I must say your nose is rather pink."

She glared at him and he just smirked, sauntering along.

The party was past its awkward mingling phase by the time they entered; people were getting comfortable with their drinks, and the music was at full volume. Someone was already attempting bad karaoke. Jack, Rose, and the Doctor dropped their gifts on the gift table and Jack helped Rose with her coat, then chivalrously helped the Doctor as well.

They all watched as the person singing karaoke was quickly displaced by a tall, handsome man with blond hair. Jack murmured to the Doctor and Rose that this was his friend Alex. 

"Yes, thank you very much," Alex said, not-so-subtly ushering the fledgling singer away. "That was great. I'm looking to up the entertainment value though, friends, what do you say?"

There were a few tipsy cheers.

The Doctor leaned against Rose's back and spoke into her ear, gripping her arms briefly. "I'm going to grab a drink. Want anything?"

She shivered at the feeling of his breath, and hoped it was imperceptible. "Sure. Whatever you're having."

He squeezed her arms briefly to indicate he'd heard her before he stepped away and disappeared into the crowd hovering around the refreshments table.

_***_

_Some time and many, many drinks later...._

"Truth or dare?"

The Doctor glanced at Rose. "Truth." 

"Okay. Where did you last have sex?"

His mouth opened, but he floundered. He hugged his knees and rocked back on the heels of his trainers. "Aaah," he said. He seemed to be thinking it over.

"Come on now, you have to aaaannnnsweerrrr," the girl who had asked him sing-songed.

The Doctor muttered something.

"Come again?" someone prompted. Several people in the circle snickered. They were all acting like a bunch of primary schoolers, but they were too drunk to care.

Rose was busy pretending to herself that she wasn't dying from a combination of curiosity and dread. This was an advantage these strangers had over her; because they didn't know who the Doctor was, they were free to ask him questions like this without hesitation. But would he answer?

"I said, 'Shanghai.' It's a long story...."

Rose felt her cheeks warm as surprise--and jealousy--washed over her. How long ago had he--and why? She knew it was none of her business, but as of this morning she had a much different take on the Doctor and sexuality. If she'd been asked to hazard a guess, just yesterday she would have said he was strictly asexual and happened to be a terrible flirt through some cruel joke of nature.

The game moved on, but the Doctor had turned a speculative gaze to his shoes, and his earlier effervescence had fizzled out. He seemed to be considering something, and as Rose watched the expressions flit across his face, she felt more and more concerned. She knew this look. 

Eventually he came up to stand beside her, and she felt his hand land on her shoulder. He bent to murmur in her ear. "We've been dosed with truth serum." 

"What?"

"Someone's idea of a party favor, I suppose."

"How can you tell?"

He tugged her gently and she followed his lead to the foyer, where he helped her into her coat, sort of jostling her to be honest. He seemed to be in a hurry to leave, and the moment the door had closed behind them he began to walk at a fast clip. Rose had to practically chase after him. 

"I never would have admitted that to a roomful of strangers," the Doctor said, tone filled with disgust. He sounded hurt and upset, and Rose frowned deeply, completely unaccustomed to this tone.

"Doctor, it's okay...you don't need to be embarrassed--"

He stopped short and sighed, jamming his hands in his pockets. Rose came around to stand before him, trying to get him to meet her eyes. "That was private," he said tightly.

"Hey, it's okay," Rose said. She cupped his cheeks and turned his face to hers. He resisted meeting her eyes. He seemed ashamed. "No one cares, Doctor. I know it was private but well...look, will it help if I told you my last place?"

"Um, no," he said, though not unkindly. He met her eyes, shifting uncomfortably. "I wouldn't ask you to do that." He took her hand, a bit awkwardly, and toyed nervously with her fingers as he began walking at a slower pace to accommodate her.

"We going back to the TARDIS? What about Jack?"

"We'll come back for him later. We're just going to get the antidote."

"Why didn't you take him with us?"

"Because this sort of thing is exactly Jack's cup of tea."

Rose had to acknowledge that was true.

They had gone past the tree line now, and the ground was slick with pine needles. They began making their way carefully down an embankment that had been much easier to come up.

"Whoa!" Rose slipped a couple of feet down the slope. 

"Grab my hand," the Doctor said, reaching for her. "I'll help you down slowly."

She reached back for his hand, but as she did she began slipping again. Her eyes widened as she accidentally yanked him down with her, hard enough that he fell into her and knocked her down like a bowling pin.

"Are you okay?" he asked when the dust had settled.

Rose looked at him, a bit dazed. "Yeah. Bit dizzy. It's the alcohol, I guess."

"Oh yeah, that," the Doctor said. He reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a little flask. "Here."

"I hardly think that more is gonna help."

"No, this'll clear your system of the alcohol."

"You don't need it?"

"No. I can regulate my blood alcohol content myself."

"Hmm well lucky you," Rose said, giving him her tongue-touched grin. "Try not to brag about your great physiology or anything."

"I didn't brag. Rose Tyler, I never brag."

"Mmm hmm." She opened the flask and drank. She immediately felt clear-headed. She handed him back the flask. "Oh thanks. That's much better. Still don't feel quite right, though."

"That's the truth serum."

"Oh. What? Why're you looking at me like that?"

His eyes hadn't left her face since they'd landed. "You're sure you're okay?"

"I think so. My knee still aches, but I think that's it."

"Good." 

Rose cleared her throat when a moment of silence dragged out for too long. "So, we better get back to the TARDIS."

"Are you in a hurry?"

Her look turned questioning. 

He looked like he wanted to say something, but wasn't sure how to come right out with it. Finally he tried, haltingly. "I...I really appreciate what you did last night. That was...um...you know. More significant to me than anything I've experienced in a while."

She smiled faintly, considering, and then couldn't stop her insecurities from bubbling over. "Even better than sex in Shanghai?" Her tone was teasing, but she had the feeling he could see through it, and the thought made her heart rate pick up.

The Doctor's eyes never left hers as he grasped the belt loops of her jeans and yanked her further into his lap, causing her to gasp at the unexpected move. He lifted his hands to her temples, and she immediately dropped her barriers as though they'd always done this. Something in his eyes changed, became softer. The tension seemed to leave the set of his shoulders.

 _You know,_ he said, _For Time Lords, this was just as intimate as intercourse. You could even say that telepathy was the penultimate act._

She watched his eyes as his gaze flickered to her lips. When had her breathing gotten so heavy? 

_Well,_ she countered, _it does feel a bit like you're inside me._

His fingertips pressed ever-so-slightly harder against her temples, his fingers flexing. His breath fogged the air between them. _Oh? And do you like it?_

Rose was completely incapable of dampening her reaction as her arousal flared to life. She grasped the lapels of his coat hard, and shifted in his lap. 

The Doctor's breath caught. _Do that again._

_? Doctor?_

_If you want to, I mean...just...._ his eyes had darkened, and his Adam's apple bobbed. 

Rose repeated the maneuver again and he slid one hand to her low back. She could feel the turn of his thoughts, the sense of urgency, and she couldn't help the whimper that escaped her. He coaxed her, with gentle pressure from the palm of his hand, to keep moving.

She didn't need much coaxing. She grabbed the lapels of his coat a bit higher and leaned forward, resting her forehead against his. Her breath mingled with his as she began a slow, steady, torturous rhythm, hardly able to believe what was taking place, what he was not only letting her do, but what he was _encouraging_ her to do. She could hardly breathe; it was as though she was in a fast-moving car and had stuck her head out an open window. 

Gently, the Doctor closed the distance between their mouths and set about warming her cold lips with a heated kiss. He went about it like he was licking an ice cream cone he wanted to make last. His breath warmed the skin above her upper lip every time he pulled back a few increments to change the angle.

Rose wasn't certain just how long she _could_ last, all things considered. There was nothing subtle about the Doctor's arousal; the friction was just right, and he was plainly enjoying it as well. She hadn't ever imagined she could get off like this, but it seemed that under the right circumstances she could. Easily.

The Doctor braced himself with one plimsoll against the ground and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly to him as he rocked against her and opened his mouth to hers so that his gently darting tongue could finally taste hers. He continued to make her feel that he was devouring her; that he was not only kissing her, but that it might be the single most important thing ever to have happened in all of time and space. 

Rose had her arms wrapped around the Doctor's neck, and as she felt herself tottering on the edge, she grabbed gently at the hair on the back of his head and pulled, needing to let off the intensity somehow. He broke the kiss to groan softly at this indication that she was so close to losing it--in this way, and this fast--and the sound made her clench. She looked in his eyes and they rocked again, and again, and his eyes were pleading with her. He held her firmly and ground up into her desperately, and she suddenly tensed against him and cried out.

The Doctor listened to her as she came, and he sucked in a sharp breath, biting his lip and closing his eyes. she was still grinding against him and he bucked helplessly under her. The friction was too much for him as well; he was keyed up from all the telepathic contact he'd had with her recently, had been on a knife's edge since waking that morning, maybe even before then. His breath sped up and roughened as the tightness in his groin let go and he came hard in his trousers, grabbing her hips instinctively and guiding her motions as he finished, shuddering, one heel digging into the ground. _"Fuck._ Oh, gods."

Rose was trembling, panting against his neck, and he cradled her against him, rubbing her back, soothing her. He placed a kiss in her hair. "I'm sorry."

She pulled back enough to look him in the face. Her cheeks were flushed and she was still catching her breath. "Sorry?" She looked confused. "For what?"

He laughed. "For dry-humping you in a ditch, for starters. Not exactly romantic."

She didn't laugh. She kissed him instead, and he followed her lead eagerly. They lost themselves that way for several minutes.

"Can't believe we just did that," Rose murmured, and the Doctor smiled, tracing the tips of his thumbs over the apples of her cheeks. She covered his hands with her own, and quirked a brow. "Think Jack is lurking out here somewhere with a camera?"

"Nah. He would have been gloating loudly long before now." His smile slowly died and he grasped one of her hands and pressed it to his lips. "I lied, you know."

She searched his eyes. "What? When?"

"Well, I didn't know I was lying. Wellll...." he tilted his head. "Maybe I did. But not consciously." He met her eyes again and sobered. "In the kitchen the other day. When I said that the essential man stays the same. You've changed me...in essential ways. I want things I never wanted before. Rose, you...frighten me. You've changed things, so quickly and...I'm not sure what to do about that. You leave me...scrambling for control. And for the first time, I don't have it." The look in his chocolate eyes was candid, a bit sad, a bit afraid.

She pressed his lower lip with the tip of her thumb. "You'll do what you always do. Be brilliant. Oh, Doctor...." Rose kissed him softly, and he clasped her to him and leaned into the kiss as though it had been ages since the last. Rose responded by running her hands up into his hair and running her nails softly over his scalp. She sighed against his lips as he closed his eyes, swallowing down some emotion, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"My Doctor."

***

_TO BE CONTINUED_


End file.
